beautiful memories

Thank you all for your prayers and support! 

I am safely home and am thankful to be with my family.

I will share stories soon:) 

much love. 

Mozambique Update

Well it has been a couple weeks now and so much is happening that I am struggling to find all the words to express and explain it. Thirty minutes on the Internet is not that much time:) so please bear with me as I try to get it all on here as quickly as possible.
My weeks are SUPER full and they are very beautiful.
Multiple times a day I am filled with joy and thankfulness about being here. It is a wave of joy that comes when I sit in the prayer gazebo, dancing in church, eating dinner next to Carlito, seeing Manuel's smile, or laughing with the iris girls.
I am filled with thanksgiving!!!
So thank you for your prayers and support. I continue to notice God's good gifts that cam through all of you!
There have been hard moments and lots of tears moments- but that is just a part of life on this side of heaven. I'm sure there will be moments where I share about specific stories, kids, or just the ins and outs of my routine here, BUT today I want to just be bold with my words and share what God is doing in my heart.
My prayer as I write is that God would stir up your spirit so that you eagerly set your hope in him and that you would know his great love FOR YOU!

If you journey with me on a regular basis you already know that the past couple years have been a struggling season. Before I left for Pemba I was reading through some old journals and altered books and I came across a page that said “Shake what is shakable in my life.” And God has been answering that prayer in my life. I notice how he has broken me down and left me with only a foundation: Jesus Christ!

I knew that God was inviting me into a season of restoration and being built up IN HIM and FOR HIM.

These past couple weeks I have been noticed how God is re-installing foundational truth in me. I have been asking that God would allow the truths to seep deep into my being so that they become part of me.

You haven’t really learned something until you can walk in it. So that is my prayer that God would continue to teach me and that I would come back to TN and be fleshing it out through my life.

In the beginning of my time here God continued to ask me if I trusted him. He did this in multiple different ways but mostly by brining up subjects in my heart where I had really tried to control on my own. He has continued to bring up these subjects and gently asked me if I would lay them down and trust him more.

All of that sounds simple, but in it is also central to a believer being fully about Jesus and his kingdom. Without trust there is no being in love with God. And without love there is no willing sacrifice.

And that is my desire,

to be a living sacrifice.

I am living in more and more joy while being here. There are hard moments, but I am just pressing into them with Jesus. I know that every moment is a chance to grow and be prepared for the next season of my life.

Last weekend I went on IMMERSION. Emersion is when three mission school students get dropped off at a Mozambican mama’s house.  This was a funny experience and I left with so many stories. We got to Mama Senea’s house around noon. We ate, prayed, and played with lots of children. All of her extended family came by to meet the visitors who were staying with her. As villagers passed here house they all yelled “Akoonya, Akoonya!” (Which means “white person, white person”). Out mama spoke Makua, which none of us did: ) so it was a wonderful cross cultural experience. I learned so much! I learned some small Makua phrases, how to cook over hot coals with no water, how to cook rice in coconut milk, and so much more. We just sat in the red dirt together and became friends. That night, all of us slept in the same little room that was attached to the side of her mud house. I slept on top of a tarp on the ground right next to my mama. The students ended up waking up around one in the morning because we were covered in tiny black ants that were biting us. I just laughed: ) cause what else can you do with something like that. We brushed them off and prayed together and just tried to get some sleep. The whole point of the experience is that you get immersed in Mozambican culture. I wouldn’t say I was immersed but I would say I was stretched and I learned a lot from a Mama Senea.

Thank you all for your continual prayers.

I struggle a little with these updates because there is just so much happening that I do no know what to share or what not to share.

Please pray that Mozambique is covered in peace. There has been some violence concerning that upcoming elections. On Sunday night, Iris starts a 24hour prayer vigil for the country.  I have had no fear about being here! God is so good and I am thankful to be here during this time: )

Please pray that I would continue to notice what God is teaching me and where he is leading me.

And please pray that I would continue to be centered on Jesus and willing to receive whatever he chooses to give me.

Much love! Cannot wait to hug you all!

Pemba: Week One

I am in Pemba:)

OBRIGADO JESUS! 

and I am learning little bits of Portuguese which I am so thankful for:)

I just wanted to update you all a little on how its going to far...\

and it is going wonderfully!

I arrived- everything went smoothly! I got my bag and nothing was stolen out of it, there was lots of joy as I traveled. I was able to sit next to a man named Kevin on my flight to Joburg and I was able to share about what I was going to do in pemba and about my love for Jesus.

From that moment on I have known that God is asking me to just be faithful in planting the seeds. 

and so that is what I am doing. 

I love my room. I live in House of Peace. There are five girls in my room and 35 girls in our House of Peace area. We are all so different- but have really been enjoying each other:)

Thank you for your prayers. 

I especially have been thankful for my bunk buddy. Her name is Nicola and she is from England. We have lots and lots of laughter- but she is also really bold in speaking truth and reminding me of God's promises- and friends like that are always the best!

Jesus has already been so faithful to meet with me. And he is doing so much in my heart.

I have loved seeing the girls and some of the boys. There is a lot of joy in re-connecting. Please continue to pray that I have wisdom in where to invest time and energy.

Heidi has been teaching quite a bit and some thing she always says is "LOVE LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING."and I like it because then the question always comes, "what does love look like in this moment?" 

There are some sporadic thoughts and processing. 

Love you all. 

Thank you for your prayers.

Internet time is up.

Much love! 

Prayers as i head to Pemba

 This place is so special to me and place matters to God.

Thank you all for your prayers and financial support as I head to Pemba, Mozambique.
I am very excited and expectant about what is to come.
Mostly I feel so thankful that God is letting me return and SO VERY LOVED by his extravagant gift.
Here are some ways that you can pray for me while I am gone>>>

Practical things:

-That travel would go smoothly and there would be no tax put on what I am bringing into Pemba.
-That I would have wisdom and discernment on where to invest, who to love on, how to split my time between my housemates, the kiddos, school, and other ministry opportunities.
-That there would be unity in our house.

Some Names you could be praying for:

-Manuel- I met manuel five years ago. He will be nine or ten now. Please pray that Jesus fills him up and that he knows that he is loved, pursued, and NOTICED.
-Farda- I love this girly:) Her name means pearl, which I think is very fitting. Please pray that she would be rooted in the love of Christ and that his perfect love would free her from all fear!
-Garlito- I am so excited to see this little friend! Garlito is about seven now. Please pray that as he grows he would be a man who seeks after God and is aware of his presence and joy.

Reality things to pray for: 

-Please pray that I would full receive God's identity for me everyday as I wake up. So that I can freely offer up what I am to him and to the people around me. This also frees me from comparison and fear.
-Please pray that God, in his love, would continue the good work in me and make me more and more like Christ.
-Please pray that my heart would be stretched, not inflated.
-Please pray that I would learn even more about clothing myself with the humility of Christ.
-And please pray that I would rejoice in being a laid-down lover of Jesus Christ, My LORD and Savior.

I want to sit at the feet of Mozambican children, women, and men. 

but more importantly

 my desire is to sit at Jesus' feet, to learn from him and dwell in his presence. 

CANNOT THANK YOU ALL ENOUGH. 

...AND I AM GONE.

see ya in August!

Excitement Abounds...

Mozambique Visa is here:)

Praise the LORD! 

He is my rabbi and my good shepherd. 

Pemba Update.

God is so faithful and I am in awe of his goodness. 

I have paid for my whole school tuition. I am in the process of getting international medical insurance and paying off my plane ticket! 

Every bit of support that I have received as been like tangible forms of grace and love.

I am so thankful that God is confirming the path.

I am eager to be in the red dirt once again. 

More to come about my Lenten season 2013. 

God is at work. He is moving in power.

Support Letter.

As many of you know I have been hoping and praying that God would allow me to return to Pemba, Mozambique. I first visited Iris right before my junior year in high school, since that time God has worked in my life and given me a heart for cross-cultural missions. I have been asking him for four and half years to let me return to Mozambique and go through Iris’ Harvest School, a school that is intended to train up missionaries and send them out to the world. This summer seemed like a good summer to be out of the country, so I applied to the school and I got in and my excitement has just continued to grow! 

During my time in Pemba I will attend classes every morning which will focus on walking in obedience to God and to his mission. In the afternoons I will have optional talks from guest speakers and cultural workshops. During my time there I will go on two outreaches. These trips take us out into bush where there is no electricity and no running water. My past outreaches have been times where I have had to rely fully on Christ and not at all on my strength, perseverance, or control. I am expectant about continuing to learn about this. On Fridays the mission students will partner with local Mozambicans or long-term missionaries and spend all day practically serving. Then on Sundays we will have the opportunity to serve with the local Mozambican church. 

There are multiple things I am looking forward to. I am excited about being in an environment of students and families that love the Lord and are eager to lay down their lives for him. I am eager to be in a place where I can learn about missions through missionaries, pastors, AND through hands-on serving. I really do believe that God has so much in store for me. I know that I will learn so much through our class time, living in a home with international students, and learning from Mozambicans. My prayer is that this upcoming summer will prepare me more and more for a lifetime of laying down my life for the glory of God and the coming of his kingdom. I am also very expectant about stepping back into relationship with many of the Iris children that I have grown to love over the years. 

If you are interested in investing in what God is doing in my life there are multiple ways that you could support me. First, and most importantly, I need prayer. I really need prayer as I prepare to go; that I would be grounded in the love and grace of God and that I would trust him fully. I also would love it if you could pray that I would be able to bring back and be faithful to all that God will entrust to me during my time in Pemba. Another way to invest in what God is doing in my life is through financially supporting me. Over the next two and half months I will need to raise $5,000. This money will cover the school tuition, my living expenses, and my airplane tickets. I know this is a lot of money but I am trusting that if God wants me there it will be provided. Sending money directly to Iris is very complicated. The most convenient way to financially support me is by mailing a check (that made out to Emily Kuhn) to my Covenant College address. I will then use that money to either pay for my plane ticket or my school tuition. 

Jesus came as a child.

This Christmas I am remembering these boys.

I wish I was with them.
Learning to trust in God's timing.
Learning to fall deeper in love with Jesus.

One little text from Pemba, MZ.

He remembers me.

Thank you God.

P.s.

I am ready to play in some RED DIRT!

oh. I miss pemba today.